


Pulling it Together

by Waywocket



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Blood, Needles, Stitches, mentions of self harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-28 08:42:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13267806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waywocket/pseuds/Waywocket
Summary: Ignis is hurt and they're out of potions, Prompto will do whatever he can to save his friend.





	Pulling it Together

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back! First post for the new years guys! Sorry I've been pulled away with that Advent Calander thing so I needed a break. This one is a bit on the gory side so take heed my friends! I'm working on a multi-chapter fic but I will try to keep posting these stories as well, just a little less often. As always leave me some love and tell me what you think! I want to be a better writer for you!

Prompto would have traded in every bullet and bolt if it got them out of this mess. It had been Ignis' idea to go out searching for ingredients during their downtime, that was at sunrise. Now it was well after dark, the Tonberries were a painful reminder of that. For as much as a struggle as they had been, Prompto was glad he had offered to accompany Ignis, more hands after all he said. Who knew this was what those hands would be used for today.

Taking aim he fired at one of the Tonberries as it slowly trudged its way closer to Ignis. They were doing fairly well if he had the breath to say so himself. Ignis was dancing around one, keeping himself only just out of range of the small knife it was brandishing. He moved fluidly around the creature, arching around it with ease.

Firing away, the blond tried to focus on the deamons that were making their way closer, he couldn't let himself get distracted worrying about his friend. That point was made obvious when one of the small deamons let loose their Grudge at him. Rolling to the side of the blast he managed to send a bullet through the creatures head. Dropping in a messy heap, knife rolling away, it's death brought the attention of another.

Changing his pistol for his Crossbow Prompto started in on it. From the corner of his eye, he saw Ignis felled his own, throwing his dagger into the remaining Tonberry. Following the path of the steel, he summoned it back to himself to continue his flurry of attacks.

Cheering for their imminent victory, Prompto switched again to his pistol. Better aim and less chance of hitting Ignis as the man moved closer to his prey. 

"It's too early to be celebrating Prompto, focus!" Shouted the tactician always vigilant. Or at least normally so. Ignis had risked adverting his eyes long enough to see Prompto when he scolded him. In the time his eyes were unfocused pain shot through his leg, sending him to the ground.

Panic in his chest, Prompto was moving before he had a chance to think about what he was doing. Turning the gun in his hand he brought it down, against the side of the Tonberry's head. Dropping his gun as it stumbled away it vanished in a blinding blue and he was clutching his Crossbow again. This time instead of shooting out a bolt Prompto jammed the machine causing it to overheat.

Making sure he was between the small creature and Ignis he plunged the machine into the deamon's face letting out a recoil that sent what was left of its head flying out into the darkness. The body crumbled down and back to the black ink to be swallowed up by the dirt. There was no time to get excited and Prompto was turning on his heels, dropping to his knees at Ignis' side, looking him over.

"Iggy, Iggy, I'm so sorry. I should have kept my mouth shut. What happened where are you hurt? What can I do?" As the blond rambled on he was searching himself for potions, only to recall that they had used the last one yesterday after Gladiolus had shielded the prince from the wrath of a Red Giant.

Ignis for his part seemed to be holding up well, face as calm as ever. Following his hands, Prompto found the source. Hands were uselessly pressing again a wound on his right thigh. Blood was spilling out from under his fingers, soaking his pants and the ground under him.

Panic bubbling up higher Prompto had begun to shake, afraid of what was to come. Reaching out tentatively, hoping to access the wound, his hands were pushed away with a single bloodied one. Before he had a chance to protest, Ignis cut him off.

"We're venerable here. We can wrap it up once we're somewhere safe." Ignis was right, of course, but that didn't settle the blond's nerves. He nodded anyway, standing up. Sooner they were safe the better.

With a bit of help, Ignis was standing, but struggling with any weight on his injured leg. As Prompto wrapped an arm around Ignis, he was brushed away. Ignis' pride getting in the way. Trying to keep himself from getting frustrated, Prompto easily stepped away.

"It's quite alright, I doubt it's more than a superficial wound." The pain on his face told Prompto everything. Most of all that the other was lying. With a small huff, Prompto moved to stop Ignis from moving. At the advisor's confused look he smiled and turned so his back was to the other man. Bending at the knees he waited. 

"You're not fooling me. This will be faster." There was a light shuffling behind him and Prompto spun around quickly, afraid he was getting ready to fall. Instead, he found Ignis shuffling his foot, arms crossed over his chest, and looking dangerously similar to a child just before they threw a tantrum. The sight was enough for Prompto to crack a small, crooked smile. Crossing his own arms he watched Ignis, waiting.

The other shuffled again, the dirt on his shoes suddenly terribly interesting. It was enough that Prompto could have laughed, except, "Ignis, you're bleeding out, can we do this after?" Ignis looked up suddenly, just as shocked as Prompto at the assertiveness in his voice.

With a sigh, Ignis dropped his arms but made no other attempt at agreeing with Prompto. With his own sigh, Prompto turned again, this time pulling Ignis' arms up over his shoulders. 

"Hold on tight, Ignis."

Once he was confident Ignis was holding on he reached down and grabbed at the others legs, nearly dropping them both at the scream that Ignis let out. Prompto winced, releasing as much pressure as he could on that leg. That explained things he thought to himself. 

"Sorry. Do the best you can to wrap it around me so I don't have to touch it okay?" Ignis had hidden his face in the crook of Prompto's neck and he could feel the hot shallow breath against his skin.

Eventually, Ignis gave a small nod and Prompto started walking. They weren't far from a small outcrop of buildings, he could see it in the darkness.

The walk was slow, Prompto was doing his best to keep from jarring the wound on his friend's leg. Ignis' nails were digging into his shoulders enough to hurt and he could feel where his shirt had grown damp, but he said nothing. Ignis was suffering enough.

Once they reached their sanctuary Prompto sat Ignis down on what was left of one of the inner walls. With a slight shift, Ignis was sitting with his hips turned enough to relieve the pressure on his thigh. A few moments passed while Prompto let Ignis catch his breath, but he was too concerned to let it go for long. 

"Alright, Iggy. It's time to see what's going on." In the torchlight, it was hard to tell, but Prompto was sure his friend was paler than normal and his worry grew. Shuffling again Ignis pulled open the torn cloth of his trousers. Leaning over, Prompto bit back a gasp. It looked deep, but it was hard to tell from the dark blood that still spilled out from it. It was long, nearly as long as one of Ignis' own fingers. His bandana wasn't going to be enough. Looking up to Ignis' face he could tell he knew it as well as he did.

"Ignis, this needs a potion. Pressure isn't going to cut it. Not if you want to walk at all before it heals." He was too ashamed to admit how he knew that, the scar under his brackets seemed to itch again at the memory. With a resigned sigh, Ignis nodded his head in agreement. Of course, they both knew that wasn't an option right now. He couldn't leave Ignis alone and they wouldn't be able to get help from the others until some time after sunrise. 

There was no sign of the bleeding slowing and Prompto did his best to swallow down his nerves. He knew what he would have to do. That made him no more eager to do it.

"Hey, Iggy, you keep a sewing kit on you right?" Ignis raised a brow at the question before both eyes went wide as the implication seemed to settle in.

"You can't be serious. We can just wait until the others find us. It will stop bleeding eventually." Ignis' voice was uneven.

"Yeah, but will have anything left to bleed when it does?" Prompto shot back, frowning up at him. Ignis opened his mouth to protest further, but a hand raised to stop him. 

"Look, don't ask any questions but it's okay. I'm not an expert but I actually know what to do alright?" The look on his face told Prompto the other man had a lot of questions, but he had to hope that Ignis would let it go, that wasn't a conversation he was ready to have. Looking over the wound again he did his best to steel himself for the task at hand. There was a lot of work to be done.

Holding out his hand, Prompto waited for the small sewing kit he knew Ignis always carried with him. A flash of blue and it sat in its owner's hands, ready for a less than orthodox use. Taking it with a small 'thank you', Prompto opened the box. Various colours of thread, needles in many sizes the tiniest of scissors and a well-worn threader.

Summoning his own first aid kit, Prompto grabbed the bottle of alcohol, he was going to need a lot of it. Starting with his hands he shook them dry as he looked up at Ignis with an apologetic smile. 

"You're gonna have to take your pants off. Can't risk it getting in the way, or getting the wound dirty once I clean it." Hesitant, Ignis did as he was told. If it was from embarrassment or apprehension Prompto couldn't guess. Once the pants had been pushed down to his ankles he sat back down fully, head turned away from Prompto and the wound.

"First thing first. Sorry, Iggy." Pouring some of the alcohol on the gash, Prompto winced when Ignis called out, covering his mouth with a hand. Blood smeared across his cheeks. Next, he sanitized the smallest needle in the case, hoping to be as painless as possible. Looking at the thread he held up the selection, giving Ignis the best smile he could muster.

"What colour do you want your stitches to be?" Looking down at the blond, Ignis huffed at the selection. 

"It hardly matters does it?" With a shrug Prompto made his own choice, putting the rest away. 

"You can have the same colour my cast was in high school." Unraveling the purple thread he snipped off a large piece before working the alcohol over it. 

"I don't have anything to numb it, so I'm sorry." Ignis seemed uneasy, but nodded regardless, squaring his shoulders. With a weak smile, Prompto began.

The first stitch was nerve-racking. Afraid to even press the needle to skin, Prompto sucked in a deep breath as he plunged the needle into soft flesh. The needle broke through the skin easily as Prompto pressed through. Pushing through the torn skin and out again, pulling the thread through until the knot was pressed tight against Ignis’ skin.

Above him, Ignis whimpered his hand back over his mouth. The blood was finally on his face and hands. In the dim light, Prompto thought it looked a little like war paint.

"You can cry you know. I'm not going to judge you for it. This is a lot worse than getting a shot." The next stitch was a little easier, even if Ignis had cried out properly. This was going to be a long process and Prompto pitied Ignis. Every stitch would pull a cry or whimper from the other man.

Working in otherwise silence, it was nearly half finished when Ignis begged him to stop. Hands gently batting at Prompto’s wrists, he tried to push him away. Tears were streaming down his cheeks as he spoke.

"A moment, please, just a moment." Relenting easily, Prompto rested the needle on the leg he was working on, leaving his hands there as well, better not to waste the alcohol. Letting him rest, Prompto let himself relax as well. They weren't out if the woods yet, but with half of the wound sewn up the bleeding had slowed considerably and it made them both breathe easier. Unfortunately, that space left Ignis time to start questions.

"So do you plan on telling me why you know how to stitch up a person? I know I taught you how to sew, but those aren't the stitches I taught you."

"Didn't I tell you not to ask questions?" Prompto tried to counter, but they both know Ignis was hardly a man to let a question go.

A silence stretched on again and Prompto picked up the needle again. Looking up once to make sure he wasn't going to surprise the other, he went back to work. This time Ignis kept most if his noises silent. Prompto wasn't sure if he should be worried or not but distracted himself instead.

"I've never actually had to do it before," looking up sheepishly he saw Ignis' expression. Wide eyes in surprise.

"But I should have. Didn't have the strength to do it to myself. But if you don't it heals really ugly and takes forever. Can't let it move either, it's a real pain." At the admittance Ignis seemed to both relax and become rigid, Prompto thought he could try to figure that one out later. For a few more stitches there was silence, but Igns was the one to break it this time.

"I know you requested no questions but," Ignis paused, seeming unable to finish his pondering. With a small laugh, Prompto finished the thought.

"Why would I know about all this?" Looking up again, Ignis gave him a sheepish look but nodded to that. Not knowing must have been eating at him.

Of course, Ignis would ask the one thing he couldn't answer. Taking a deep breath, Prompto held it a few beats, trying to think of how to answer the question as he continued his work, nearly complete. Hoping the silence would mean Ignis had let it go, he risked a glance up, only to find Ignis staring down at him expectantly.

"It wasn't an accident if that's what you're hoping I'm going to say. It was my own stupid fault." There was a small sound of protest from his friend, but Prompto waved him off without looking at him. Besides, there was no point in denying the truth. He knew what he had done was stupid. Trying to cut off the barcode not strong enough to succeed, and weaker still for not being able to take proper care of it.

As he finished the last few stitches he felt Ignis’ hand cover the one not working on his leg. Looking up again he saw Ignis’ face, soft with concern, but warm with affection. He was smiling softly, just hardly visible. Forcing himself to smile back, he finished the last stitch before he fell back to sit in the dirt.

They sat quietly as Ignis looked over the blond’s work. Seemingly satisfied, he let Prompto rest while he bandaged the wound himself. Prompto watched as skilled fingers went to work with disinfectant and gauze. It would scar, but not like his, and Prompto was happy about that at least. He may not have been strong enough then to save himself, but he was strong enough now to look after Ignis, and that was enough.

**Author's Note:**

> You made it! Now I was left with a lot of hang ups on this one (Struggles of Grammerly being your Beta) so if you caught anything that didn't flow right let me know!


End file.
